EZ-EG Midi guitar

[Hotbop]

I know this has been discussed for a while on a different thread, but yesterday I had the opportunity to test one of Yamahas midi guitars. It was the EZ-AG.
My local dealer lend my one to test it over the weekend.
With the midi out I connected it to my Audiophile to record something, and here comes the big problem:
every time I played a note there were 2 midi notes recorded, the one from picking and the one from pressing the fretboard-button. So this is very annoying and the guitar becomes usless for midi recording.I must say I have no problems with my cordination
(left hand, right hand )There is a mode to turn of the right picking, but thats not playing guitar.
Does the bigger model EZ-EG have the same problem or is there a solution that the notes arnt triggered twice?
Any hints from some users would be appreciated
Cheers.
Michael

[Polychrome]

I'm very interested in the answer to this. The ez-eg has been discontinued, but I might buy one if the midi out functions correctly, or if there is an easy workaround.
I'm trying to advocate the use of instruments like this in music therapy, and I should buy one while I can, if it works correctly as a general purpose midi controller for computer-based rigs.
It uses a usb midi cable, right?

[SecondSkin]

here comes the big problem:
every time I played a note there were 2 midi notes recorded, the one from picking and the one from pressing the button. So this is very annoying and the guitar becomes usless for midi recording

There are quite a few workarounds to this "problem". First, realize that the first note is a very low velocity (midi velocity 14 on a 128 scale) and very short duration. If you turn the velocity sensitivity of your synths up (meaning higher velocities lead to much louder notes) you won't even hear the first note. Most softsynths (and nearly all hardware) have this setting in their interface, usually near the amp envelope or osc settings. Sometimes it is a knob or slider, but sometimes just a button which turns velocity sensitivity on. In any event, make sure velocity is up all the way.

Second, you can filter out the low velocity notes. Most sequencers can do this (check your midi settings) either in realtime or during editing. Alternatively, you can use a midi filter app (such as Midi Ox) to remover the low velocity notes in realtime.

One of those two should solve your problem. It's funny to me, however, that you call it a problem, as I consider this to be one of the EZ-EG's greatest assets. That first low velocity note is there to recreate the sound of fretting the strings on a real guitar (which it does very well). When you realize that you can easily filter it out (I usually just turn up the velocity sensitivity on my synths) it can be used as a creative tool. By turning the velocity of our synths OFF, you can do lead solos and lead lines without picking, for instance. Or you can play chords without picking (you won't get the sound of the open strings, but sometimes that's interesting too). In any event, I think it opens all kind of new possibilities.

PS you can find my EZ-Eg demo tune here. It was done entirely in midi. Can you hear the double notes???

[Polychrome]

Woot! That perfectly answers my questions, and I am definately buying one of these. If I could afford to buy 50, I would, and get them into the hands of disabled former guitar players.

Thanks, SecondSkin.

I look forward to my new toy.

[Internal Exodus]

How long ago was the EZ-EG discontinued? I've wanted to get one for awhile now, and now that I know they're discontinued I'm getting a little scared

[don1thedon]

Any suggestion where I can get one of these in the UK?
Thanks
Don

[SecondSkin]

It uses a usb midi cable, right?

It comes with a Yamaha UX16 USB midi interface, but it works with any midi interface (the "guitar" has a standard midi out).

If I could afford to buy 50, I would, and get them into the hands of disabled former guitar players.

And yes, it is VERY easy on the fingertips (maybe too easy).

Mark

[Polychrome]

I just ordered one for 300 dollars from Amazon. They are getting hard to find, but I bet Amazon has a few more in their inventory. I can't wait for my new toy...mmmm.

[caimillu]

I just tried to buy it in Amazon (from Spain-Barcelona), and it tells me This:

*** We're sorry. The item can't be shipped to your selected destination. You may either change the shipping address or delete the item from your order by changing its quantity to 0 and clicking the update button. ***

Does anuone know somewhere else to buy it?

I can buy EZ-AG here in Barcelona but....Is the tremolo and apearence the only thing that makes EZ-EG diffrent?

[Polychrome]

There are a couple on ebay, so you could look into the shipping options for those.

[caimillu]

I've allready tried a couple of fiffrent adresses from Barcelona, but they don't want to ship it here, and I don't see any shipping option that makes them ship it.

It's really weird, because I've bought boocks a couple of times for my doughter and there was no problem.

[Markleford]

Michael,

These extra notes could be filtered out via MFX, sensing the low volume, if that's your only issue. Honest, I'll get those other plugs to you sometime, too!

- m

[Hotbop]

Yeah, cool Markleford!

Thx for the detailed info SecondSkin!
Cheers,
Michael.

[Hotbop]

Caimillu, If you want I can buy one here in germany, and send to you. Or I can bring it to you, because I will go to Barcelona at July.
Sería un placer poder ayudarte
Saludos

[Markleford]

After looking into this, I wouldn't mind having a go on one, myself!

- m